Through my soil evaluation and dump trailer hauling gigs, I get to discover lots of very rural places.
And there are a handful of areas where property values are low, and county code enforcement is non-existent, which tend to draw people of an alternative lifestyle. When I get called to one of these areas, I always know the trip will be interesting.
Most normal people would describe many of the places I end up using the word "sketchy". I'm enough of an anarchist backwoodsman myself that I thoroughly enjoy these backroad explorations.
Today, I delivered some firewood in an area known for it's Mormon population, the polygamist variety.
I wound through a maze of potholed dirt roads, drove over a narrow pond dam, and past a very nice, welded pipe rodeo arena in middle of the woods. I went past the remains of an old sawmill. Pretty normal so far.
And then, mufflers.
Mufflers, tailpipes, catalytic converters, piles of them.
Stacks and mounds of them.
Mufflers and tailpipes strewn across the forest floor. At least half an acre of timber piled with thousands of mufflers.
This was either the dumping area for a very busy muffler shop, or the hidden cache of the most prolific catalytic converter thieves in human history.
Now, I own a dump trailer and know the way to the scrap yard, so what I see is piles of free money lying in the timber. I would love to find the landowner and offer to clean it up for him, but the likely scenario is it's owned by an old man who doesn't want it picked up thinking he might need some piece of that junk someday and will hoard it til he dies like Smaug on his gold.
So, on I drove, dropped off the firewood, and made my way back home. Just another typical afternoon for me.
#grownostr #ruralruins
And then, mufflers.
Mufflers, tailpipes, catalytic converters, piles of them.
Stacks and mounds of them.
Mufflers and tailpipes strewn across the forest floor. At least half an acre of timber piled with thousands of mufflers.
This was either the dumping area for a very busy muffler shop, or the hidden cache of the most prolific catalytic converter thieves in human history.
Now, I own a dump trailer and know the way to the scrap yard, so what I see is piles of free money lying in the timber. I would love to find the landowner and offer to clean it up for him, but the likely scenario is it's owned by an old man who doesn't want it picked up thinking he might need some piece of that junk someday and will hoard it til he dies like Smaug on his gold.
So, on I drove, dropped off the firewood, and made my way back home. Just another typical afternoon for me.
#grownostr #ruralruins
#grownostr #winter #edcstr
#grownostr #farmstr #gm #winter
Power went out about 10:30 this morning. So I went out, topped off the gas in the generator, checked the oil, and let it run a few minutes so it would be ready if needed.
Then I set up my propane Coleman stove in the shop and fixed a pot of chili for lunch.
Just as I got the chili done, the power came back on.
We had lunch.
I fed hay to the cows.
Just another day for a rural, self-sufficient, rancher.
#grownostr #farmstr #proofofwork
Just a reminder, the best time to make your winter preparations is before the ice storm warning.
In my defense, though my tank in the truck was empty, I do have a filled 50 gallon tank in the barn.
#grownostr #farmstr #homesteading
Happy birthday, Professor Tolkien. This one's for you.
Ruins of Isengard smoked in a T. Cristiano bent Dublin
#tolkien #pipestr #grownostr
#gm #proofofwork
Notice the grey coloration at 25 inches. This indicates a water table. A septic system on this site will need shallow placement trenches and a curtain drain to reroute water around the system.
#grownostr #soil #proofofwork
#edc #pocketdump #gunstr #knifestr #gm #grownostr
RAK 19003 board
10000 mAh battery
USB-C output solar panel
Pelican Case
#grownostr #proofofwork
Walther PPS
Case Sodbuster jr
Zippo lighter
Maratac flashlight
Pry bar
Wallet
Keys
Spare mag
Meshtastic radio
1611 Bible
#gunstr #knifestr #edc #pocketdump
#gm